school a noobie on buying a used stove.

[iamquaker]

so the wife and i are in the market for a wood stove insert to supliment our electric heat. we currently have a brick fireplace in our house and want to add a insert.

alot of my neighbors just have the inserts shoved in the chimney and dont add any pipe up the brick chimney. the brick chimney is lined with what looks like a clay liner that is about 11 inches square all the way up. would i still need to add a steel chimney pipe?

found this stove for sale locally. what do you think?
my house is 1500 square feet.

(broken link removed)


thanks!

 

[ecfinn]

It kind of looks like a used Lopi Revere. I'm not an expert in any way but I do have a Lopi Revere insert in my house. A couple things I noticed. 1. The unit does not have a blower. Although this isn't crucial it will definitely add to the amount of heat you can get into the house. A new one can be purchased for ~$200. 2. Check the stove for warping. You can do this by eyeball, but I'd put a straight metal level across the metal surfaces and see if there are any gaps/bulges/etc. If so, pass on the stove. 3. Check the secondary burn tubes inside. Again look for signs of warping/deterioration. 4. It appears it has the damper bypass, (which is one reason I think its the Revere). Check to see if it operates smoothly. Do the same for the air control at the bottom. 5. Cracked firebricks can be replaced, don't worry too much about that, unless it was operated with them in that condition.

Lopi is a good quality stove and if well cared for can last a long time. The price seems a bit low to me so check carefully for the reason. Ask a lot of questions about how it was used, when was it purchased new, etc.

As for the liner, it may or may not be possible to re-use it depending upon what had to be done to get it into that fireplace. It also may not be long enough, but if its in decent enough shape its a very nice "throw-in" for the deal. And from all I've read you should always attempt to do a full reline of the chimney as you'll get better performance.

Again, take this all for what its worth. There are a lot of other much more experienced folks here than I, I've only been reading and learning from them for a couple years.

Good luck and let us know what you find if you do check it out in person.

Eric

 

[seaken]

The most common reason to not install a full liner pipe is budget. Many folks think it is too much money to spend for an "option". Fact is, the risks go way down when the chimney is properly re-lined. Also, the performance of the stove and the ease of maintenance is directly affected by your choice here. I would definitely recommend you do a full re-line.

The stove does look like a Revere. If it is in good shape, that is a "steal" of a price. That stove sells for over $1600. If you have a tight budget this may be a great deal for you. But sometimes trying to go on the cheap raises your risk. Be careful and deliberate. If you don't know what you are doing, hire a professional who will care for your safety.

Good luck,
Sean

so the wife and i are in the market for a wood stove insert to supliment our electric heat. we currently have a brick fireplace in our house and want to add a insert.

alot of my neighbors just have the inserts shoved in the chimney and dont add any pipe up the brick chimney. the brick chimney is lined with what looks like a clay liner that is about 11 inches square all the way up. would i still need to add a steel chimney pipe?

found this stove for sale locally. what do you think?
my house is 1500 square feet.

(broken link removed to http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/for/339573629.html)


thanks!

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

the law is simple. The flue can be no larger then 2 times the cross sectional for a external chimney, and no more then 3 times then the cross sectional in a internal chimney.
external chimney cant be any larger then ~56.52 square inches and a internal chimney cant be any larger then 84.78 square inches (assuming a 6" flue collar on the insert or stove) Obviously a 11x11 wouldnt meet the basic code critera no matter what the performance ramifacatios are. There are many more reasons to line your chimney besides the basic code rules. Most of all you will suffer performance and increase the risk of chimney fire by many folds.

 

[webbie]

The stove could be an Answer model - which sold for as little as $800. way back. Either way it is a decent stove.

There is an article in the Wiki entitled How to Buy a used stove - if you go to wiki and search on "used stove" you will find it.

With that size of a flue, a stainless liner will be the best way to go - work better, easier to clean, safer, etc....and since you are saving so much, it will be easier to afford.

 

[begreen]

Here's a link to the wiki article:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Used_Stove_buying_Primer/

 

[iamquaker]

wow! thanks for all the quick responses.

will use all this info when i go look at the used stove soon.

 

[restorer]

wow! thanks for all the quick responses.

will use all this info when i go look at the used stove soon.

Welcome to the Hearth.

Do your homework. Study the wiki, and size your stove and flue. You are in the hotest area for good used stoves in the country. From Eugene to Seattle there are great stove listings and very good deals all the time. Check out a few stoves, bring your impressions back to the hearth and let us talk about them. The stove you have found may be a very good deal, but may not suit your needs. Remember, it's like buying a used car. Don't just look at the outside, but check the workings out.

Also, don't let some on the forum try and convince you to buy new. There are great wood stoves that can be used for years and very cost saving. Realize, Oregon regulated the industry for years in emission, and Washington has the strictest codes and emission standards. If a stove meets their standards, it's in the top categories of available stoves.

That said, if the stove you are looking at was listed in my area, you'd be too late, I would have bought it yesterday. Sweet deal.